Hamlet - A Tragedy? Arguably the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the is the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison tipped sword. But that is not all that is needed to consider a play a tragedy, and sometimes a hero doesn't even need to die. Making not every play in which a Hero dies is considered a tragedy. There are more elements needed to label a play one. Probably the most important element is an amount of free will. In every tragedy, the characters must display some. If every action is controlled by a hero's destiny, then the hero's death can't be avoided, and in a tragedy the sad part is that it could. Hamlet's death could have been avoided many times. Hamlet had many opportunities to kill Claudius, but did not take advantage of them. He also had the option of making his claim public, but instead he chose not too. A tragic hero doesn't need to be good. For example, MacBeth was evil, yet he was a tragic hero, because he had free will. He also had only one flaw, and that was pride. He had many good traits such as bravery, but his one bad trait made him evil. Also a tragic hero doesn't have to die. While in all Shakespearean tragedies, the hero dies, in others he may live but suffer "Moral Destruction". In Oedipus Rex, the proud yet morally blind king plucks out his eyes, and has to spend his remaining days as a wandering, sightless beggar, guided at every painful step by his daughter, Antigone. A misconception about tragedies is that nothing good comes out of them, but it is actually the opposite. In Romeo and Juliet, although both die, they end the feud between the Capulets and the Montegues. Also, Romeo and Juliet can be together in heaven. In Hamlet, although Hamlet dies, it is almost for the best. How could he have any pleasure during the rest of his life, with his parents and Ophelia dead? Also, although Hamlet dies, he is able to kill Claudius and get rid of the evil ruling the throne. Every tragic play must have a tragic hero. The tragic hero must possess many good traits, as well as one flaw, which eventually lead to his downfall. A tragic hero must be brave and noble. In Othello, Othello had one fatal flaw, he was too great. Othello was too brave, too noble, and especially too proud to allow himself to be led back to Venice in chains. A tragic hero must not back down from his position. He also has to have free will, in order to stand up for what he believes in. Finally, the audience must have some sympathy for the tragic hero. In MacBeth, although MacBeth commits many murders, one almost feels sorry for him and his fate. Hamlet is the perfect example of the tragic hero. Hamlet has all the good traits needed to be a tragic hero. He is brave and daring. One example of this is that when he went to England, he was taking a big risk. If his plan didn't work, he would have been executed He also is also loyal. His loyalty to his father was the reason he was so angry at Claudius and his Mother. Another trait was that he was intelligent. He was able to think up the idea of faking insanity, in order to get more information about Claudius. But Hamlet like all other tragic hero's had a flaw. He couldn't get around to doing anything, because he couldn't move on. He was a full-grown adult, yet he still attended school in England, because he couldn't move on. Also, it took him a long time to stop grieving about his father, because he didn't want to move past that part of his life. And after he finally did, Hamlet couldn't get around to killing Claudius He kept pretending he was insane even after he was sure that Claudius killed his father. The final example of Hamlet's inability to get around to do anything was that he was dating Ophelia for a long time, but never got around to marrying her. The audience was able to feel sympathy for Hamlet too. He had just lost his father, and his mother remarried so quickly that according to him they could have used the leftover food from the funeral in the wedding reception. Also, the audience could feel that Hamlet loved his parents and this sudden change was hurting him. In any tragedy there is a tragic hero, and he must possess certain characteristics in order to be one. He must have many good traits such as loyalty and bravery, but one bad one such as pride. Also the audience must have sympathy for the hero. A tragic hero also must have free will or his fate would be decided for him, and his death could be avoided. Finally, the audience must have sympathy for the tragic hero, or it wouldn't seem so tragic. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero. He was brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he couldn't move on past one thing, which led to his death. He had a choice of how he would deal with Claudius, and like other tragic hero's made a decision. Also, the audience was able to feel sympathy for the position Hamlet was in. These attributes made Hamlet the perfect example of a tragic hero.
Nurse Ratched uses her voice throughout the novel to intimidate the patients. She is the antagonist of the novel. The patients obsequiously follow Ratched’s command, until McMurphy comes along. They all fear that she will send them for shock therapy if they don’t obey her. Nurse Ratched is the most daunting persona of the novel, due in large part to the use of her voice.
magazine in 1933, and written by Ernest Hemingway. The essay details the escapades of a Cuban fisherman dragged out to sea by marlin. By the time he was found, sharks had destroyed the man’s great catch.1 This essay is the basis for the story of the main character, Santiago, in Hemingway’s novella, The Old Man and the Sea.1 Published almost twenty years later, in 1952, The Old Man and the Sea is considered a classic American novel. The story is deceivingly simple, involving an unlucky elderly fisherman, Santiago, who hasn't caught a fish in months. However, many aspects of the story tell of a much deeper message which transcends the years. Santiago embodies universal truths about the character traits of men, including perseverance and commitment, faith and humility developed through adversity.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a well known tragedy of the 19th century. This play has several examples of tragic heroes, tragic flaws, and other elements in a tragedy. A tragic play was one that had at least on tragic hero with a tragic flaw that ended in an inevitable catastrophe, which was usually the death of the tragic hero. This describes Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark perfectly.
Ernest Hemmingway’s Old Man and the Sea shines as example of the bravery that is required to chance at conquering the ultimate struggle. Santiago embodies a man full of whole-hearted character whose love and resolve enable him to push beyond the limits of even a great man- a man one can only dream of becoming. Santiago’s unique personality offers a variety of insights on the way that life should be approached. Not many possess the ability to love an admirable enemy as much as a dear friend, but Santiago proves that he is no ordinary fisherman. Hemmingway beautifully captures Santiago’s personality with the virtues of faith love, and hope. Throughout the novel, however, as Santiago’s mission grows seemingly impossible, Santiago mainly stays true to only two of the virtues but also develops a trait that can now be considered virtuous, and that is the maintenance of faith and the capacity to love.
Aristotle wrote “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;... in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” (Poetics). Shakespeare 's “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” is viewed by most as one of the greatest tragedies that was ever written. Hamlet, an ideal tragic hero in his right, as appealed to many people of different cultures since it was written all those years ago. Hamlet has all of the makings to be a real man and that is what brings us into his world so easily, but like every human being on Earth, he has a hamartia. John Green
Even though Hamlet is a prince, he has little control over the course of his life. In that time many things were decided for the princes and princesses such as their education and even who they married. This was more or less the normal way of life for a child of the monarch. But in the case of Hamlet, any of the control he thought he had, fell away with the murder of his father. Having his father, the king, be killed by his own brother, sent Hamlet into a state of feeling helpless and out of control. Cooped up in a palace with no real outlet, he tries to control at least one aspect of his life. Hamlet deliberately toys with Ophelia's emotions in order to feel in control of something since he cannot control the situation with Claudius.
He is at home in the water, and show great respect for it and all that is within. He loves and appreciates the sea and what it has to offer. “Some of the younger fishermen… spoke of [the sea] as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of [the sea] as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them” (Hemingway 30). Santiago is a loving man, not one to hold a grudge against nature and her bounty, even after going eighty-four days without catching a fish. His respect for nature is shown not only in his relationship with the sea, but how he treats each of the sea’s inhabitants. He is thankful for the help of the man-of-war bird that shows him to the fish. He refers to the bird as his friend and relates the birds struggle of finding fish to his own hardships. He has respect for not only the animals that help him, but for the animals that contest him as well. The giant marlin that he tries to bring in to his boat is close to his heart in the writing. This is because they share the same struggle, they are both trying to survive. Even once the old man is triumphant over the beast he never suggests that he is any greater than the marlin. “I have killed this fish which is my brother and now I must do the slave work” (Hemingway 95). After Santiago has overcome the fish
A hero can be that normal person you see just walking down the street. According to either of these definitions, Prince Hamlet can definitely be identified as a hero. For his words and actions, clearly exhibit such label, and give one the right and reason to say so. " But two months dead-- …my poor father’s body…why she married with my uncle, My father’s brother, but no more like my father…
In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway there are two characters who have a great friendship, the old man and the young boy. The old man has been fishing for many years and for the last eighty-four days has not caught a fish. Now the boy who looks up to him is not allowed to fish with him anymore. This boy looks up to the old man as a hero because the old man shows courage, perseverance, and respect. The old man shows courage just by going out all alone everyday and still fishing at his age. Although he showed the most courage when he had to fight the big fish. He could have let the fish go, by cutting the line, but instead the old man was willing to die trying to catch it.
Webster’s dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences such a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and related actions. The character of Hamlet, therefore, is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.
"The Old Man and The Sea" is an unbelievable story of a man with struggles within nature. The simplicity of the story’s structure engages readers of all ages. How the main character overcomes his struggles and tribulation is wild, inspiring, and humanistic. The tale can easily be taken into every aspect in life situations. It is truly a classic with an unforgettable plot that leaves the reader wanting more.
Santiago is a brave, unbelievably optimistic, and prideful man. Nothing in his life will shake his morals and his integrities. Even facing death he is like a turtle swimming through poisonous waters (37). After being dragged through numerous encounters that should have taken his spirit completely, his heart still beats like a turtle’s heart after butchering. No one, apart from Santiago himself, can defeat his cheerful, uplifting spirit. However, the elderly fisherman’s state of mind is too stubborn and strong in his ways to allow defeating himself. This in itself keeps readers going and encourages anyone reading The Old Man and the Sea.
"The Old Man and the Sea" is a heroic tale of man's strength pitted against forces he cannot control. It is a story about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant Marlin. Through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity; the "Old Man and the Sea" strives to teach important life lessons to the reader while also epitomizing Santiago, the old fisherman, as a Hemingway code hero.
The Old Man and the Sea is one of the most famous novel written by Ernest Hemingway. In this novel, Hemingway shows the world the story about the great Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman who flight for his honor and pride. In the critical essay, Hemingway’s Tragic Vision of Man, Clinton S. Burhans,, Jr wrote how he and others authors interpreted this novel, and he took into account the following points: heroic individualism, interdependence, and Christian. I agree with Clinton’s essay. In the novel, Hemingway addresses the character of Santiago so properly that he inspires these points without doubt.
The relationship between animal and human in this text shows as a relationship of appreciation and respect. Santiago loves everything about being a fisherman. He is lonely at sea and his sea friends are his companions. He has great respect for the sea as well as the inhabitants that swim and live in it. He does not love all creatures of the deep, blue sea, however, does show respect for each one. Santiago has a particular relationship with the marlin. He comments that the marlin is “wonderful”, “strange”, “strong”, “wise”, and “that is fight has no panic to it” (Hemingway 48 -49). Based on his description of the marlin, Santiago loves and respects him as a worthy opponent and brother, “Now we are joined together and have been since noon” (Hemingway 50). Santiago is not only literally linked to the marlin, but also figuratively because the outcome of this battle will determine both their fates. The old man says, “The fish is my friend too,” he said aloud. “I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars” (Hemingway 75). He starts to imagine impossible feats like killing the moon or the sun and feels lucky that his task, in relative terms, is much simpler. Although he is sad to kill the fis...